Christie Camp Strikes Gold in California

Californians Have Been Generous to Christie Campaign

By

Heather Haddon

Updated May 13, 2013 9:33 p.m. ET

California has taken a shine to Gov. Chris Christie, with West Coast technology entrepreneurs and entertainment moguls donating tens of thousands of dollars to the re-election campaign of a New Jersey Republican leading in the polls by a wide margin.

Residents of the Golden State gave more than $590,000 in reportable contributions to Mr. Christie's campaign, second only to New Jersey gifts, an analysis of campaign documents released Monday showed. New York came in third with $372,000 in contributions of greater than $300, the threshold marking when campaigns must identify their donors in New Jersey.

Chris Christie has raised more money from California than any other state except for New Jersey, a haul that points up the benefits of his new friendship with technology stars such as Mark Zuckerberg.

The support of tech moguls such as Facebook Inc. Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg and PayPal Inc. co-founder Peter Thiel point to Mr. Christie's bipartisan appeal, with the Silicon Valley community tending to be socially liberal but fiscally conservative, political analysts said.

"They look at Christie in some ways as a game changer," said Ross Baker, a professor of political science at Rutgers University. "He's a Republican governor in a blue state who has had to make peace with people who are not doctrinaire conservatives."

Mr. Christie attended four fundraisers in California in February, with the most attention going to the event hosted by Mr. Zuckerberg at his home in Palo Alto. "He captivated us," said Sinan Kanatsiz, founder of the KCOMM Internet marketing firm, who attended the event. "You have 60 top technology executives in Zuckerberg's living room, and you could hear a pin drop when Chris Christie was speaking."

ENLARGE

Mr. Christie raised nearly $6.2 million from 14,260 donors through May 3 for his re-election bid.

Newark Mayor Cory Booker—a Democrat exploring a run for the U.S. Senate seat now held by Sen. Frank Lautenberg—also is showing fundraising prowess in California. Mr. Booker recently pulled in $300,000 on a fundraising swing there, his most recent federal filing shows. Overall, he has raised nearly $1.9 million this year.

Mr. Booker first made inroads in Hollywood after Yolanda "Cookie" Parker—a Los Angeles software-company owner who raises money nationally for President Barack Obama—first met him at the president's inauguration in 2009. Mr. Booker had held five fundraisers in California since January. "He's intelligent, he's bright," Ms. Parker said. "God knows we need that in the Senate."

Mr. Christie also counts friends in Hollywood, including film producer Peter Guber and the chief executive of Dick Clark Productions, Allen Shapiro. Mr. Tisch also gave Mr. Christie a contribution.

Much of Mr. Christie's California money, however, flows from the technology community. Companies represented on the campaign filing included executives from Facebook, Pinterest Inc., LinkedIn Corp., Yahoo Inc.,Zynga Inc,, eBay Inc. and Dropbox, the filings show. Nine executives from Facebook made donations totaling more than $34,000.

More than 75% of Mr. Christie's reportable contributions from California donors were $3,800, the maximum amount in New Jersey.

Mr. Christie's four California events in February raised around $700,000 when including those who gave but don't live in the state. The events included a luncheon at the Beverly Hills Hotel, along with private affairs in La Jolla and Santa Barbara.

Mr. Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, hosted about 100 people at their home. The guest list drew heavily on Mr. Zuckerberg's technology connections, but also included Condoleezza Rice, who served as secretary of state under former President George W. Bush. Mr. Christie took more than an hour of questions from attendees on a range of issues that included education and fiscal policy.

Donors in California saw similarities between their state and New Jersey—a blue state with tough financial challenges, said Bill Palatucci, Mr. Christie's campaign chairman. "People are interested in the governor and how he's getting things done in New Jersey," Mr. Palatucci said. "There was a very positive reception to the governor at all the stops we made in California."

The campaign could return to California for more fundraisers this election year, but no specific plans have been made.

California leads the U.S. in fundraising, with $464 million in contributions originating from the state in the 2012 presidential, Senate and House elections, according to an analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan research group based in Washington, D.C. Of the total, 47% went to Democrats and 36% to Republicans. Texas and New York gave the second and third most, with New Jersey coming in 14th, the group's analysis shows.

Mr. Christie's likely challenger in the fall, Democratic state Sen. Barbara Buono, has raised $1.9 million from nearly 2,500 contributors when factoring in matching funds, her campaign filing shows. The governor has declined to accept matching funds for the primary, but has yet to make a decision on the general election.

Ms. Buono raised nearly all of her reportable contributions within New Jersey—none coming from California. The campaign anticipates receiving more out-of-state money as Ms. Buono builds her name recognition, campaign spokesman David Turner said.

Mr. Turner said Mr. Christie's veto of gay marriage and minimum wage legislation will particularly mobilize national Democrats to give.

"They are excited about Sen. Buono's candidacy. It's about communicating that message, and that's what we are doing right now," he said.

California contributors likely see Mr. Christie as an appealing contender for president in 2016, though he continues to assert he is focused on New Jersey, Mr. Baker said. Mr. Christie's embrace of Mr. Obama after superstorm Sandy hit the state is a factor in that support, he said.

"That was a transfiguring moment," Mr. Baker said. "He lost support in the base, but it made him more broadly acceptable."

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